Space Technology

Clavius is one of the largest crater formations on the Moon and the second largest crater on the visible near side.
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places.
SOFIA has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.

Both statements are correct.
16 Psyche is a giant metal asteroid, about three times farther away from the sun than is the Earth. Its average diameter is about 140 miles (226 kilometers) — about one-sixteenth the diameter of Earth’s Moon. Psyche orbits the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Unlike most other asteroids that are rocky or icy bodies, scientists think the M-type (metallic) asteroid 16 Psyche is comprised mostly of metallic iron and nickel similar to Earth’s core. Scientists wonder whether Psyche could be an exposed core of an early planet that lost its rocky outer layers due to a number of violent collisions billions of years ago.
NASA’s Psyche mission is targeted to launch in August of 2022, the Psyche spacecraft would arrive at the asteroid in early 2026, following a Mars gravity assist in 2023.

The Kessler syndrome, also called the Kessler effect, collisional cascading or ablation cascade, is a scenario in which the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade where each collision generates space debris that increases the likelihood of further collisions.
# According to European Space Agency, the number of space debris objects in Earth’s orbit is 6.7 lakh (larger than 1 cm) and over 17 crore (larger than 1 mm).

Statement 1 is correct. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are super intense, millisecond-long bursts of radio waves produced by unidentified sources in the distant cosmos.
Statement 2 is incorrect. NASA has reported that on April 28, it observed a mix of X-ray and radio signals never observed before in the Milky Way. Significantly, the flare-up it observed included the first fast radio burst (FRB) seen within the galaxy.
It was detected by several satellites including NASA’s Wind mission and Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), a radio telescope located in British Columbia.

Statement 1 is correct. ‘Mission Shakti’ was India’s first ever Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Missile Test successfully conducted on 27th March 2019 from Dr AP J Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha, where a fast-moving Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was neutralized with pinpoint accuracy.
Statement 2 is incorrect. China conducted its first acknowledged test of an anti-satellite missile in 2007. Apart from India and China, USA and Russia possess the anti-satellite weapons technology.

Both statements are correct.
The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity. With its 30 m prime mirror diameter, TMT will be three times as wide, with nine times more area, than the largest currently existing visible-light telescope in the world.
The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project being installed at Maunakea in Hawaii is an international partnership between CalTech, Universities of California, Canada, Japan, China, and India; through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its fifty first flight (PSLV-C49), successfully launched EOS-01 along with nine international customer satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on November 07, 2020.
EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite, intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
EOS-01 is nothing but another Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT) that will work together with RISAT-2B and RISAT-2BR1 launched last year. EOS-01 was initially named RISAT-2BR2.
With EOS-01, ISRO is moving to a new naming system for its earth observation satellites which till now have been named thematically, according to the purpose they are meant for.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid more than 1000 feet (over 300 meters) in size that will harmlessly pass close to Earth on April 13, 2029.
Astronomers now have revealed that a large asteroid named ‘Apophis’ expected to pass extremely close or may hit the Earth in 2068 due to a phenomenon called Yarkovsky effect. Researchers at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA) in the US, have announced the detection of Yarkovsky acceleration on the near-Earth asteroid Apophis.
The Yarkovsky effect describes a small but significant force that affects the orbital motion of small meteoroids and asteroids. It is caused by sunlight; when these bodies heat up in the Sun, they eventually re-radiate the energy away as heat, which in turn creates a tiny thrust.

The Crew Dragon is a class of reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first new, crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular flights with astronauts since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying a crew of four people to the International Space Station (ISS) on a six-month-long mission on Nov 14.

Statement 1 is correct. IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
An Extended Service Area lies between primary service area and area enclosed by the rectangle from Latitude 30 deg South to 50 deg North, Longitude 30 deg East to 130 deg East.
IRNSS will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorised users. The IRNSS System is expected to provide a position accuracy of better than 20 m in the primary service area.
Statement 2 is correct. It has been accepted as a component of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean Region by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
This will enable merchant vessels to use IRNSS for obtaining position information similar to GPS and GLONASS to assist in the navigation of ships in ocean waters within the area covered by 50°N latitude, 55°E longitude, 5°S latitude and 110°E longitude (approximately up to 1500 km from Indian boundary).
The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of IMO during its recent meeting (102nd session) held from 4 to 11 November 2020 has approved the recognition of the IRNSS as a component of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System.

Both statements are correct.
The surface of the Sun has electrically charged gases that generate areas of powerful magnetic forces. These areas are called magnetic fields. The Sun’s gases are constantly moving, which tangles, stretches and twists the magnetic fields. This motion creates a lot of activity on the Sun’s surface, called solar activity.
The magnetic field lines near sunspots often tangle, cross, and reorganize. This can cause a sudden explosion of energy called a solar flare. Solar flares release a lot of radiation into space. If a solar flare is very intense, the radiation it releases can interfere with our radio communications here on Earth.
# Recently, the solar physicists at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital, along with their collaborators from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), Tenerife, Spain and the University of Oslo, Norway, used the imaging observations from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SoHO), and KCor coronagraph in Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (US), to observe a very hot current sheet with temperature over 20 million Kelvin associated with the biggest solar flare of the decade observed on September 10, 2017.
# The research provides the first evidence of significant number of plasma blobs along with the current sheet in the wake of a solar flare that could help delve deeper into solar flares.

All of the planets in our solar system orbit around the Sun. Planets that orbit around other stars are called exoplanets. Exoplanets are very hard to see directly with telescopes. They are hidden by the bright glare of the stars they orbit.
The prefix exo comes from the Greek and means outside; these worlds are far, far outside our own solar system.

The Yarkovsky effect describes a small but significant force that affects the orbital motion of meteoroids and asteroids smaller than 30-40 kilometers in diameter. It is caused by sunlight; when these bodies heat up in the Sun, they eventually re-radiate the energy away as heat, which in turn creates a tiny thrust.
Astronomers have revealed that a large asteroid named ‘Apophis’ expected to pass extremely close or may hit the Earth in 2068 due to a phenomenon called Yarkovsky effect.
Prior to the detection of Yarkovsky acceleration on Apophis, astronomers had concluded that a potential impact with Earth in 2068 was impossible. The detection of this effect acting on Apophis means that the 2068 impact scenario is still a possibility.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Chang’e-4 spacecraft made a soft touch down on the Moon’s far-side. The Chang’e-5 is going to target a nearside location called Mons Rümker, a high volcanic complex in a region known as Oceanus Procellarum.
Statement 2 is correct. It is a multi-step mission that involves an orbiter, a lander-ascender and finally a return component that uses a capsule to survive a fast and hot entry into Earth’s atmosphere at the end of the mission to bring back sample from Lunar surface.
# The last sample returned from the moon was delivered by the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 spacecraft in 1976.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. Shukrayaan is a proposed mission to Venus (second closest planet).
Statement 2 is incorrect. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has short-listed 20 space-based experiment proposals, including from France, for its proposed Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’ to study the planet for more than four years.
ISRO was earlier eyeing June, 2023 that has now been delayed due to pandemic, future launch opportunity is either in 2024 or 2026. The optimal launch window, when Venus is closest to the Earth comes about every 19 months.

Both statements are incorrect.
Sentinel-6 has been developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat), the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the EU, with contributions from France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
The Sentinel is a joint endeavour between Europe and the US, and will continue the measurements that have been made by a succession of spacecraft, called the Jason-Topex/Poseidon series, going back to 1992. It aims to collect the most accurate data yet on sea level and how it changes over time.
These earlier missions have shown unequivocally that sea levels globally are rising, at a rate in excess of 3mm per year over the 28-year period. And their most recent data even suggests there is acceleration under way, with levels recorded as going up at over 4mm per year.
# About one-third of the measured global sea-level rise on Earth is from the expansion of warming water, a key driver of which is climate change. The rest is largely from melting ice.

Jezero Crater is the landing site for the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.

NASA chose Jezero crater as the landing site for the Perseverance rover because scientists believe the area was once flooded with water and was home to an ancient river delta.

More than 3.5 billion years ago, river channels spilled over the crater wall and created a lake. Scientists see evidence that water carried clay minerals from the surrounding area into the Crater Lake. Conceivably, microbial life could have lived in Jezero during one or more of these wet times. If so, signs of their remains might be found in lakebed or shoreline sediments

A new research supported by NASA’s astrobiology programme has developed a novel and broader definition of life – called Lyfe- a definition that encapsulates life on Earth but also the possibility of “life not as we know it” elsewhere on the board.

The researchers developed the term lyfe and outlined ‘four pillars’ of the term’s definition. These four pillars (dissipation, autocatalysis, homeostasis, and learning) can be used to identify any system that could be defined as living. Based on these criteria, the authors discuss Life (e.g. life as we know it on Earth) as a single instance of the broader phenomenon dubbed Lyfe.

Perseverance rover of NASA has the primary goal of finding signs of past life on Mars.

Finding ‘life as we know it’ would be a rarest of rare case and would mean a life based on biology analogous to that found on Earth. Other possibility would be to find ‘life not as we know it’!

Lyfe offers a novel perspective on what we consider to be a ‘living state’ and could aid our understanding of what to look for in the search for life beyond Earth.

Both statements are correct.

Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges to the Earth. These light pulses, combined with other data recorded by the airborne system, generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.

A lidar instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS receiver.

From an airplane or helicopter, LiDAR systems send light to the ground. This pulse hits the ground and returns to the sensor. Then, it measures how long it takes for the light to return back to the sensor. By recording the return time, this is how LiDAR measures distance.

Digiantra Research and Technology (DRT), a space tech startup has developed India’s first In-orbit Space Debris Monitoring and tracking system based on the LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.

Statement 1 is correct. BeiDou is the Navigation Satellite System constellation developed and deployed by China. BeiDou offers its users all kinds of services. This includes accurate positioning upto 10m, navigation and timing, as well as short messaging communication.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Beidou system provides global coverage to its users. China in 2015 launched the third generation BeiDou system (BeiDou-3) for global coverage. It has recently declared completion and commissioning of BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System.

Other global navigation systems are GPS by USA, GLONASS by Russia and Galileo by European Union.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Crew Dragon Endeavour is a spacecraft, manufactured and operated by SpaceX and used by NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Statement 2 is correct. It was launched successfully for the first time with crew on board in May 2020 by Falcon 9 rocket and has returned back to Earth with crew onboard on August 2^nd 2020.

It is the spacecraft used in the first crewed orbital spaceflight from the United States since 2011 and the first crewed orbital spaceflight by a private company.

Both statements are correct.

Cryogenic engines use Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen as propellants which liquefy at -183 deg C and -253 deg C respectively.

A Cryogenic rocket stage is more efficient and provides more thrust for every kilogram of propellant it burns compared to solid and earth-storable liquid propellant rocket stages.

Specific impulse (a measure of the efficiency) achievable with cryogenic propellants (liquid Hydrogen and liquid Oxygen) is much higher compared to earth storable liquid and solid propellants, giving it a substantial payload advantage.

However, cryogenic stage is technically a very complex system compared to solid or earth-storable liquid propellant stages due to its use of propellants at extremely low temperatures and the associated thermal and structural problems.

Statement 1 is correct. Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace recently declared that it has successfully tested an upper-stage rocket engine becoming the first Indian private company to build a homegrown rocket engine.

The engine Raman, named after Nobel laureate CV Raman has fewer parts and weighs lesser than a conventional rocket engine.

Statement 2 is incorrect. ISRO has not used the said engine. The Skyroot Aerospace aims to launch satellite by its vehicle Vikram-I into a lower earth orbit by end-2021.

Both statements are correct.

Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. The temperature of a sunspot is still very hot though—around 3,500 degrees Celsius!

Sunspots are relatively cool because they form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong. These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface.

The Sun’s magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle. Every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field flips and the Sun’s north and south poles switch places.

-The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum: when the Sun has the least sunspots.

-The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum: when the Sun has the most sunspots.

-As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins.

Statement 1 is correct. AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.

The payloads cover the energy bands of Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical and X-ray regime.

One of the unique features of AstroSat mission is that it enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.

# AstroSat has detected extreme UV light from a galaxy called AUDFs01, 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth in a discovery by a global team led by scientists of the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA).

Statement 2 is incorrect. AstroSat is a multi-wavelength astronomy mission on an IRS-class satellite in a 650-km, near-earth equatorial orbit. It was launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in 2015.

# Geosynchronous orbit is a high Earth orbit that allows satellites to match Earth’s rotation. Located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth’s equator, this position is a valuable spot for monitoring weather, communications and surveillance.

Both statements are correct.

IN-SPACe is to act as an autonomous body, under Department of Space, as a single window nodal agency for enabling and regulating space activities and usage of ISRO facilities by NGPEs.

It will permit and oversee the following activities of Non-Government-Private-Entities (NGPEs).

–Space activities including building of launch vehicles and satellites and providing space based services as per the definition of space activities.

Sharing of space infrastructure and premises under the control of ISRO with due considerations to on-going activities.

–Establishment of new space infrastructure and facilities, by NGPEs, in pursuance of space activities based on safety norms and other statutory guidelines and necessary clearances.

Initiation of launch campaign and launch, based on readiness of launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, ground and user segment.

Building, operation and control of spacecraft for registration as Indian Satellite by NGPEs and all the associated infrastructure for the same.

Both statements are correct.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) is a new type of radio telescope designed and built by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The ASKAP telescope makes images of radio signals from the sky, allowing astronomers to view the Universe at wavelengths that our eyes cannot see.

It is a type of radio telescope known as an ‘interferometer’. This means it uses many antennas acting together as one large telescope. ASKAP is an array of 36 dish antennas each with a diameter of 12 metres and linked by fibre-optic cable, the antennas work together as one telescope.

ASKAP is located on the traditional lands of the Wajarri people in Western Australia.

# It has mapped over three million galaxies in a record 300 hours during its first all-sky survey. The initial results of this survey were published recently.

Statement 1 is correct. The Geminids are widely recognized as the best annual meteor shower, occurring between Dec. 4 to Dec. 17.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The parent of the Geminids is 3200 Phaethon, which is arguably considered to be either an asteroid or an extinct comet. When the Earth passes through trails of dust, or meteoroids, left by 3200 Phaethon, that dust burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, creating the Geminid meteor shower.

All meteors associated with a shower have similar orbits, and they all appear to come from the same place in the sky, which is called the radiant. The Geminids appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Gemini, hence the name “Geminids.”

Statement 1 is incorrect. India’s communication satellite CMS-01 was successfully launched by PSLV-C50 on Wednesday December 17, 2020 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

The CMS-01 is envisaged to provide services in the Extended-C Band of the frequency spectrum whose coverage will include the Indian mainland, Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. The satellite will be the first in a new series of communication satellites by India after the GSAT and INSAT series.

Statement 2 is correct. After injection, the solar panels of CMS-01 were automatically deployed and ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan has assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming days, orbit raising manoeuvers will be executed to position the satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at its designated location.

Statement 1 is correct. Project Loon, which comprises of helium-filled balloons that aim to deliver internet access to remote parts of the world. These high-altitude balloons are found in the stratosphere and create aerial wireless networks.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Project Loon belongs to Alphabet’s moonshot company X. (Alphabet is parent company of Google).

Last year, the subsidiary announced that its balloons reached 1 million hours of stratospheric flight. And in October, it was revealed that Loon set a new record for the longest stratospheric flight by staying in air for 312 days.

The balloons navigate up or down in the altitude to catch a favorable wind current that takes them to the desired direction. There is no manual control on when the helium balloons will ascend or descend. So, this decision is taken by the data mined by sophisticated algorithms.

Statement 1 is correct. The DRDO Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AEW&C), is a force multiplier system of systems for detecting & tracking of enemy/hostile aircrafts/ UAVs etc. It also enables operators onboard and on ground to identify, assess the threat and take actions to guide our interceptors to those for neutralizing those threats.

Statement 2 is correct. The jet platform selected for the DRDO AEW&C Netra system is the Embraer EMB-145.

The Ministry of Defence recently approved a proposal in which Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) will integrate airborne early warning radars and sensor on six Airbus A320 commercial airliners from national carrier Air India’s current fleet. The six aircraft are to be sent to France, where they will be refurbished and modified to Indian Air Force/DRDO specifications.

In 1623, the solar system’s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a “Great Conjunction.”

It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it happening in 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”

Statement 1 is correct. Jupiter takes roughly 12 years to complete one lap around the Sun and Saturn takes 30 years.

Statement 2 is correct. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system at nearly 11 times the size of Earth and 317 times its mass.

Despite its size, Jupiter has the shortest day of any other planet; it only takes about 10 hours for a complete rotation.

The center of our Milky Way Galaxy is anchored by a black hole that is nearly 5 million times the mass of our Sun.

 Surrounding it is a chaotic city of stars, gas, and dust that we call Sagittarius A.

 We stacked false-color X-ray, infrared, and radio images into this single picture to show you the different structures hidden inside the core of our Galaxy.

 X-rays (purple) radiate from the super-hot gas trapped in the black hole’s grasp.

 The surrounding dust is heated by friction as it chaotically orbits around the black hole and then glows in infrared light (gold).

 And the enormous pools and three-armed rivers of gas shine in radio light (oranges and reds) to trace the complexity of magnetic fields in this violent neighborhood.

NOTE: A language professor has given a Hawaiian name — Powehi — to the black hole depicted in an image produced in a landmark experiment.

Though the Event Horizon Telescope set out to image both M87 and Sagittarius A* the black hole at the centre of the Milky way, they have succeeded only in imaging the former, despite its being much further away.

Titan and Earth are the solar system’s two places with standing bodies of liquid on the surface. Titan boasts lakes, rivers and seas of hydrocarbons: compounds of hydrogen and carbon like those that are the main components of petroleum and natural gas.

“Titan is the most Earth-like body in the solar system. It has lakes, canyons, rivers, dune fields of organic sand particles about the same size as silica sand grains on Earth”.

Scientists have detected the most ancient type of molecule in our universe in space for the first time ever

• Helium hydride ion (HeH+) was the first molecule that formed when, almost 14 billion years ago, falling temperatures in the young universe allowed recombination of the light elements produced in the Big Bang.

 At that time, ionised hydrogen and neutral helium atoms reacted to form HeH+, said researchers from The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Germany.

 Despite its importance in the history of the early Universe, HeH+ has so far escaped detection in astrophysical nebulae — cloud of gas and dust in outer space.

 Operating the GREAT far-infrared spectrometer onboard the flying observatory SOFIA, an international team reported unambiguous detection of the molecule towards the planetary nebula NGC 7027.

Black holes are not radiant and will not be visible through any telescope.

 However, as first suggested by Albert Einstein, if by chance, a tiny primordial black hole eclipses a distant star, light rays of the star will bend around the black hole due to gravitational effect, resulting in the star appearing to be brighter than it originally is for a short while. Called `gravitational lensing’, this rare phenomena can occur only when the star, the black hole and the observer on the Earth are aligned in a straight line.

 When the black hole is in alignment with a distant star, due to gravitational attraction, light rays are bent inwards like a lens, making the star appear brighter.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is developing methane-powered rocket engines.

 The space agency is developing two ‘LOx methane’ engines (liquid oxygen oxidiser and methane fuel) engines.

 One of the two projects is trying to convert the existing cryogenic engine, which uses liquid hydrogen for fuel, into a LOx methane engine.

 The other is a smaller engine of 3 tonnes thrust, which will feature an electric motor.

 These are being developed at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Trivandrum.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India.

 It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages.

 After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017.

 During 1994-2017period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.

 Besides, the vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively.

It has failed twice in her missions.

 PSLV-D1 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota on Sep 20, 1993. IRS-1E Satellite could not be placed in orbit. It is her maiden mission.

 The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its forty-first flight (PSLV-C39), was suppose to launch IRNSS-1H, the eighth satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO).

 Launch of PSLV-C39/IRNSS-1H, Scheduled on Aug 31, 2017 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota was unsuccessful.

ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba has completed the design for the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), the ‘baby rocket’ billed as the quickest way to space for small-size satellites.

• On the launchpad, the SSLV will stand 34 metres tall, 10 metres shorter than the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and around 15 metres shorter than the Mk-II version of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch vehicle (GSLV).

 It is also a ‘thinner’ launch vehicle, possessing a diameter of just two metres.

 With a lift-off mass of 120 tonnes, the SSLV can place a 500 kg payload at a height of 500 km in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

 The SSLV has three solid motor stages, and like the PSLV and GSLV, can accommodate multiple satellites, albeit smaller ones.

 Unlike the PSLV and GSLV, the SSLV can be assembled both vertically and horizontally.

The Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC), the hub of ISRO’s future manned missions, was inaugurated at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.

 HSFC shall be responsible for the implementation of Gaganyaan project — which involves mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew survival in space, crew selection and training and also pursue activities for sustained human space flight missions.

 HSFC will take the support of ISRO centres to implement the first developmental [crewed] flight.

NASA has recently launched Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

 It is designed to probe Earth’s upper atmosphere (Ionosphere), a massive layer that overlaps with the boundary of space.

 Its measurements will help scientists better understand the link between space weather and terrestrial weather, and how the two interact in the ionosphere.

 It is the region where strange and unique phenomena, such as the auroras and geomagnetic storms are created.

GISAT-1 or Geo Imaging Satellite-1 is India’s first earth imaging satellite in a geostationary orbit.

 A satellite in geostationary orbit (about 36,000 km above earth) has an orbital period equal to earth’s rotational period.

 Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) will launch GISAT-1. This will be the fourteenth flight of the GSLV.

 After the launch, GISAT-1 will reach the final geostationary orbit of around 36,000 km using its onboard propulsion system.

 The earth observing satellite that weighs around 2,275 kg has a lifespan of 7 years. It carries a multi- and hyper-spectral imager along with the 700 mm Ritchey-Chretien telescope for earth observation and data collection. Also it has a high resolution camera.

Objectives of GISAT-1

 Facilitates near real time observation of the Indian sub-continent, under cloud free condition, at frequent intervals.

 Helps quick monitoring of natural disasters.

 Keep a constant watch on borders.

 Monitor any changes in the geographical condition of the country.

 Helps to obtain spectral signatures of agriculture, forestry, mineralogy, disaster warning, cloud properties, snow, glaciers and oceanography.

Very Large Telescope array (VLT) .

• The Very Large Telescope array (VLT) is the flagship facility for European groundbased

astronomy at the beginning of the third Millennium.

• It is the world’s most advanced optical instrument, consisting of four Unit

Telescopes with main mirrors of 8.2m diameter and four movable 1.8m diameter

Auxiliary Telescopes.

• The telescopes can work together, to form a giant ‘interferometer’, the ESO Very

Large Telescope Interferometer, allowing astronomers to see details up to 25 times

finer than with the individual telescopes. The large telescopes

are named Antu, Kueyen, Melipal and Yepun.

Statement 1 is correct: Aditya – L1 First Indian mission to study the Sun.

The Aditya-1 mission was conceived as a 400kg class satellite carrying one payload, the

Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and was planned to launch in a 800 km low

earth orbit.

Statement 2 is correct: Satellite will be placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian

point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the

Sun without any occultation/ eclipses. Therefore, the Aditya-1 mission has now been

revised to “Aditya-L1 mission” and will be inserted in a halo orbit around the L1, which is

1.5 million km from the Earth. The satellite carries additional six payloads with enhanced

science scope and objectives.

Statement 3 is incorrect: The project is approved and the satellite will be launched

during 2019 – 2020 timeframe by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota. Aditya-1 was meant to

observe only the solar corona. The outer layers of the Sun, extending to thousands of km

above the disc (photosphere) is termed as the corona. It has a temperature of more than a

million degree Kelvin which is much higher than the solar disc temperature of around

6000K. How the corona gets heated to such high temperatures is still an unanswered

question in solar physics.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II (GSLV Mk II) is the largest

launch vehicle developed by India, which is currently in operation.

• This fourth generation launch vehicle is a three stage vehicle with four liquid strapons.
• The indigenously developed cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS), which is flight proven,

forms the third stage of GSLV Mk II.

• Cryogenic engine makes use of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2)

as propellants which liquefy at -183 deg C and -253 deg C respectively.

• LOX and LH2 are stored in their respective tanks. From there they are pumped in to

turbo pump by individual booster pumps to ensure a high flow rate of propellants

inside the combustion/thrust chamber.

• The major components of a cryogenic rocket engine are combustion/thrust

chamber, igniter, fuel injector, fuel cryo pumps, oxidizer cryo pumps, gas turbine,

cryo valves, regulators, the fuel tanks and a rocket engine nozzle.

Vikas Engine is the workhorse liquid rocket engine powering the second

stage of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), second stage and the four strap on

stages of Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the twin engine core liquid stage

(L110) of GSLV Mk-III.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is directed by NASA

to the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with support from several NASA centers: the Jet

Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Johnson Space Center

(JSC), Glenn Research Center (GRC), and Langley Research Center (LRC).

• DART is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an

impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid.

• DART will be the first demonstration of the kinetic impactor technique to change the

motion of an asteroid in space.

• The DART mission is in Phase C, led by APL and managed under NASA’s Solar

System Exploration Program.

Mars Missions by NASA:

• Mariner
• Mars Resonance Orbiter
• Phoenix
• MAVEN
• In-Sights Lander
• Curiosity Rover

NOTE: Magellan mission is related to Planet Venus.

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light
cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space.
This can happen when a star is dying.
•The largest black holes are called “supermassive.” These black holes have masses
that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every
large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center
•The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called
Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very
large ball that could hold a few million Earths.
•Even if a black hole the same mass as the sun were to take the place of the sun,
Earth still would not fall in.
•The black hole would have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets
would orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now.
•The sun will never turn into a black hole. The
a black hole.

Full moons can occur at any point along the Moon’s elliptical path, but when
a full moon occurs at or near the perigee, it looks slightly larger and brighter than a typical
full moon. That’s what the term “supermoon” refers to.
•Because supermoon is not an official astronomical term, there is no definition
about just how close to perigee the full moon has to be in order to be called “super.”
•Generally, supermoon is used to refer to a full moon 90 percent or closer to
perigee.
•A more accurate and scientific term is “perigee syzygy.” Syzygy is the alignment of
three celestial bodies, in this case the Sun, Moon and Earth.

Sagittarius A* is a bright and very compact astronomical radio source at the

Galactic Center of the Milky Way. Based on mass and increasingly precise radius limits, astronomers have concluded that Sagittarius A* is the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole.

Nobel Prize 2020 (Physics) winners Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez each lead group of astronomers that, since the early 1990s, has focused on a region called Sagittarius A* at the centre of our galaxy. Their pioneering work has produced the most convincing evidence yet of a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

Statement 1 is correct. ‘Opposition’ is the event when the Sun, Earth and an

outer planet are lined up, with the Earth in the middle. Mars opposition event is when Mars

is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. During this opposition, Mars and

Earth are closest to each other in their orbits.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Mars Close Approach was Oct. 6, 2020; that is the point in Mars’

orbit when it comes closest to Earth, this time at about 38.6 million miles (62.07 million

kilometers) from our planet, the opposition will happen on October 13.

Close Approach is when Mars and Earth come nearest to each other in their orbits around

the sun. Close is a relative term. The minimum distance from Earth to Mars is about 33.9

million miles (54.6 million kilometers). However, that doesn’t happen very often.

In 2003, Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years! It won’t be that

close again until the year 2287.

Consider the following statements regarding the New Shepherd rocket system:

1. It is a reusable suborbital rocket system developed by NASA.
2. It is designed to take research payloads as well as astronauts into the space.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A common definition of space is known as the Kármán Line, an imaginary boundary 100 kilometers (62 miles) above mean sea level. This 100-kilometer “Kármán Line” was recommended to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the internationally recognized body for recording aeronautic achievements.

In theory, once this 100 km line is crossed, the atmosphere becomes too thin to provide enough lift for conventional aircraft to maintain flight. At this altitude, a conventional plane would need to reach orbital velocity or risk falling back to Earth.

Many organizations use the Kármán Line as a way of determining when space flight has been achieved.

Both statements are correct.

This well-preserved, ancient asteroid, known as Bennu, is currently more than 200 million

miles (321 million kilometers) from Earth.

The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security – Regolith

Explorer (OSIRIS-Rex) spacecraft travelled to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu and

aims bring at least a 2.1-ounce sample back to Earth. It recently performed a Touch-And-

Go (TAG) sequence to collect the required sample from the asteroid.

If it turns out that the spacecraft did not collect enough sample at Nightingale site, it will

attempt another TAG maneuver on Jan. 12, 2021. If that occurs, it will touch down at the

backup site called “Osprey,” which is another relatively boulder-free area inside a crater

near Bennu’s equator.

The spacecraft is not scheduled to depart Bennu for Earth until April 2021. A landing on

Earth for any rock cache in this timeline would be late 2023.

The Quadrantids, which peak during early-January each year, are considered to be one of the best annual meteor showers.

 Most meteor showers have a two day peak, which makes catching sight of these other meteors much more possible.

 The Quadrantids peak, on the other hand, is much shorter—only a few hours. (The reason the peak is so short is due to the shower’s thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle.)

 During its peak, 60 to as many as 200 Quadrantid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions.

 Quadrantids are also known for their bright fireball meteors. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak.

 This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of material. Fireballs are also brighter, with magnitudes brighter than -3.

Mission Shakti which was launched recently was done in a low orbit of less than 300 kilometres and at a particular angle to ensure that minimal debris was disbursed above into space to avoid damage to other satellites or the International Space Station (ISS).

Launch vehicles use combustion of propellants consisting of oxidiser and fuel for deriving the energy.

 Air breathing propulsion systems use atmospheric oxygen, which is available up to about 50 km of earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored on-board thereby making the system much lighter, more efficient and cost effective

 Air breathing propulsion is a solution for a powered long return cruise flight necessary for reusable launch vehicles.

 The collection and use of air involves challenges as the launch vehicle speeds through atmosphere at supersonic speeds.

 This calls for the development of ramjet or scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) technologies.

 The Dual Mode Ramjet (DMRJ), the ramjet-scramjet combination, is currently under development, which will operate during the crucial Mach 3 to Mach 9 ascend flight of the launch vehicle.

QZSS is a Japanese satellite positioning system composed mainly of satellites in quasi-zenith orbits (QZO).

 QZSS (Michibiki) has been in operation since November 2018 to develop a satellite positioning service that can be used stably in all locations at all times.

 This system is compatible with GPS satellites and can be utilized with them in an integrated fashion.

 In this way, the satellite positioning service environment was advanced dramatically.

 QZSS can be used even in the Asia-Oceania regions with longitudes close to Japan, so its usage will be expanded to other countries in these regions as well.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) initiated ‘Project NETRA’ – an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites.

 The space agency says our SSA (space situational awareness) will first be for low-earth orbits or LEO which have remote-sensing spacecraft.

 Under NETRA, or Network for space object Tracking and Analysis, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.

 They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.

To tackle the problem of space debris, a company called Tethers Unlimited has demonstrated an easy solution to get rid of satellites once they are of no use.

 The solution involves a 230-feet long strip of conductive tape, which is delightfully called the Terminator Tape.

 The Terminator Tape is a small module about the size of a notebook.

 Weighing less than two pounds, it is designed to attach to the exterior of a satellite which deploys the 230-feet long conductive tape through an electric signal from either the satellite or an independent timer unit when the satellite completes its mission and is ready to get disposed.

AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying

celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.

Option 1 is incorrect. Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) was used onboard the Chandrayaan

1 mission and TMC 2 was onboard the Orbiter payloads of Chandrayaan 2.

Option 2 and 3 are correct. Five payloads of ASTROSAT are chosen to facilitate a deeper

insight into the various astrophysical processes occurring in the various types of

astronomical objects constituting our universe.

–The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), capable of observing the sky in the Visible,

Near Ultraviolet and Far Ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum

–Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC), is designed for study the variations in

the emission of X-rays from sources like X-ray binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei and other

cosmic sources.

–Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) is designed for studying how the X-ray spectrum of 0.3-8 keV

range coming from distant celestial bodies varies with time.

–Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI), functioning in the X-ray region, extends the

capability of the satellite to sense X-rays of high energy in 10-100 keV range.

–Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM), is intended to scan the sky for long term monitoring of

bright X-ray sources in binary stars, and for the detection and location of sources that

become bright in X-rays for a short duration of time.

# A galaxy called AUDFs01 located in the Extreme Deep field, was discovered through

AstroSat recently by a team of Astronomers from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy

and Astrophysics (IUCAA).

Statement 1 is incorrect. A gravitational wave is an invisible (yet incredibly

fast) ripple in space. Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per

second). These waves squeeze and stretch anything in their path as they pass by. A

gravitational wave is an invisible (yet incredibly fast) ripple in space.

In 2015, scientists detected gravitational waves for the very first time. They used a

very sensitive instrument called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave

Observatory). These first gravitational waves happened when two black holes crashed into

one another. The collision happened 1.3 billion years ago.

Statement 2 is incorrect. A black hole is a region of space where matter has collapsed in

on itself and the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.

Black holes emerge from the explosive demise of certain large stars, but some are truly

gargantuan and are billions of times the mass of our Sun.

Black holes are detected from the way they influence their surroundings, they produce

observable gravitational waves as they spiral in to each other.

# Scientists from LIGO and Virgo have detected the largest collision between two black holes

to date, which appears to have created an “intermediate-mass” black hole.

# LIGO-VIRGO collaboration operates three super-sensitive gravitational wave-detection

systems in America and Europe.

Statement 1 is correct. Defence Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) has successfully demonstrated the hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology

with the flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from Dr

APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha recently.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Only the United States, Russia and China have developed

technologies to field fast-manoeuvring hypersonic missiles that fly at lower altitudes and

are extremely hard to track and intercept.

It is estimated to take around four years for India to develop hypersonic cruise missiles

powered by air-breathing scramjet engines.

The dual-use hypersonic technology has non-military applications too – it can be used for

launching satellites and developing commercial planes

# Hypersonic: more than five times faster than the speed of sound (>Mach 5).

Both statements are correct.

A ramjet operates by combustion of fuel in a stream of air compressed by the forward

speed of the aircraft itself, as opposed to a normal jet engine, in which the compressor

section (the fan blades) compresses the air. The air flow through a ramjet engine is

subsonic, or less than the speed of sound. Ramjet-propelled vehicles operate from about

Mach 3 to Mach 6.

A scramjet (supersonic-combustion ramjet) is a ramjet engine in which the airflow

through the engine remains supersonic, or greater than the speed of sound. Scramjet

powered vehicles are envisioned to operate at speeds up to at least Mach 15.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Cygnus spacecraft is an expendable American

cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and now manufactured and

launched by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems as part of NASA’s Commercial

Resupply Services (CRS) program.

Statement 2 is correct. Each spacecraft by Northrop Grumman is named after an important

figure in the aerospace industry. Northrop Grumman has named the NG-14 Cygnus

spacecraft after the first woman of Indian descent to fly in space, Kalpana Chawla. For the

NG-14 mission, the SS Kalpana Chawla spacecraft will deliver approximately 3,629 kg of

cargo to the space station.

# In November 1996, K. Chawla was assigned as a mission specialist on STS-87 aboard the

Space Shuttle Columbia, becoming the first woman of Indian descent to fly in space.

# Kalpana Chawla’s second spaceflight experience was in 2001 for the crew of STS-107. The

flight was dedicated to science and research, with approximately 80 experiments completed.

# The STS-107 mission ended abruptly on February 1, 2003 when Space Shuttle Columbia

and her crew perished during entry, 16 minutes prior to the scheduled landing.

The solar cycle is the cycle that the Sun’s magnetic field goes through

approximately every 11 years. This means that the Sun’s north and south poles switch

places. Then it takes about another 11 years for the Sun’s north and south poles to flip

back again.

Statement 1 is incorrect. Recently, scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA announced their predictions about the new

solar cycle, called Solar Cycle 25, which they believe has begun.

The Solar Cycle 25 Prediction Panel, an international group of experts co-sponsored by

NASA and NOAA, announced that solar minimum occurred in December 2019, marking the

start of a new solar cycle. Because our Sun is so variable, it can take months after the fact

to declare this event. Scientists use sunspots to track solar cycle progress.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the

Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity and the number of sunspots increase.

The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most

sunspots. As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle

begins.

Statement 1 is correct. Venus has a thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon

dioxide and it’s perpetually shrouded in thick, yellowish clouds of mostly sulfuric acid that

trap heat, causing a runaway greenhouse effect.

It’s the hottest planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun.

Venus has crushing air pressure at its surface – more than 90 times that of Earth.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The former Soviet Union is the only nation to land on the

surface of Venus to date, though the spacecraft did not survive long in the harsh

environment.

The Soviet Union’s Venera 13 in 1982 survived the intense heat and crushing pressure of

Venus’ surface for around two hours and transmitted color images from the surface of

Venus.

Statement 1 is correct. Under NASA’s Artemis program, NASA’s new rocket,

the Space Launch System (SLS), will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft nearly

a quarter million miles from Earth to lunar orbit. Astronauts will dock Orion at the

Gateway and transfer to a human landing system for expeditions to the surface of the Moon. They will return to the orbital outpost to board Orion again before returning safely to

Earth.

Statement 2 is correct. Phase 1 of the program plans to land the first woman and the next

man on the surface of the Moon in 2024.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource

Identification Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft travelled to and is

currently orbiting a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu (formerly 1999 RQ36).

Statement 2 is correct. The OSIRIS-REx aims to bring at least a 2.1-ounce sample back to

Earth for study. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how

life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

The mission launched Sept. 8, 2016, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. On Oct. 20,

the mission will perform the first attempt of its Touch-And-Go (TAG) sample collection

event.

The spacecraft is scheduled to depart Bennu in 2021 and it will deliver the collected sample

to Earth in 2023

Statement 1 is correct. The Himalayan Chandra Telescope is housed within

the Indian Astronomical Observatory at in Hanle near Leh in Ladakh.

Statement 2 is correct. The telescope remotely operated using a dedicated satellite

communication link from the Centre for Research & Education in Science & Technology

(CREST), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).

# IIA is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

# The telescope has completed two decades in operation.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Magellanic Clouds are comprised of two

irregular galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud

(SMC).

Statement 2 is correct. Magellanic Clouds orbit the Milky Way once every 1,500 million

years and each other once every 900 million years.

They are only visible from the southern hemisphere and became known in Europe after the

expeditions led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan

Statement 1 is correct. National Centre for Radio Astrophysics-TIFR has set up a unique facility for radio astronomical research using the metre wavelengths range of the radio spectrum, known as the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), it is located at a site about 80 km north of Pune.

GMRT is a very versatile instrument for investigating a variety of radio astrophysical problems ranging from nearby Solar system to the edge of observable Universe.

Statement 2 is correct. Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) has become the third Indian scientific facility to be awarded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) milestone for its novel engineering, advanced technology and scientific contributions made in the field of radio astronomy.

The previous two Indian contributions, recognised by the world’s largest technical professional organisation recognised in 2012, are for the pioneering work done by Sir JC Bose to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves in 1895, and for the Nobel Prize winning discovery of the scattering of light named “Raman effect” by Sir CV Raman in 1928.

The IEEE Milestones programme honours significant technical achievements and excellence for the benefit of humanity found in unique products, services, seminal papers and patents, which have global or regional impact, in all areas associated with IEEE.

The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), is an observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

The telescope was built in the early 1960s, with the intention of studying the ionised upper part of Earth’s atmosphere, the ionosphere.

Recently the telescope’s 900-ton instrument platform collapsed onto a reflector dish some 450ft (137m) below.

It came just weeks after officials announced that the telescope would be dismantled amid safety fears, following damage to its support system.

The Arecibo Observatory telescope was one of the largest in the world.

SpaceIL, the nonprofit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed as it tried to land on the moon last year, announced recently that it is launching another lunar mission with its Israeli government partners. The Beresheet 2 project will aim to send three spacecraft — an orbiter and two landers — to the moon.

The first Beresheet, or “Genesis,” spacecraft, built by SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries had crashed on moon surface in 2019.

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax, created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004.

By collecting faint light over many hours of observation, it revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the universe ever taken at that time.

The eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, was assembled by combining 10 years of NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken of a patch of sky at the center of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon.

Starlink is the satellite constellation network that the private spaceflight company SpaceX is developing to provide low-cost internet to remote locations.

SpaceX has launched 655 Starlink satellites till now. SpaceX plans to have as many as 12,000 satellites in the low Earth orbit (LEO) Starlink project.

Current satellite internet works using large spacecraft that orbit 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above a particular spot on the Earth. But at that distance, there are generally significant time delays in sending and receiving data. By being closer to Earth (LEO) and networking together, Starlink’s satellites are meant to carry large amounts of information rapidly to any point on Earth.

Spent rockets, satellites and other space trash have accumulated in orbit increasing the likelihood of collision with other debris. NASA space debris expert Don Kessler observed that, once past a certain critical mass, the total amount of space debris will keep on increasing: collisions give rise to more debris and lead to more collisions, in a chain reaction.

The collisions create more debris creating a runaway chain reaction of collisions and more debris known as the Kessler Syndrome.

This cascade of collisions first came to NASAs attention in the 1970’s when derelict Delta rockets left in orbit began to explode creating shrapnel clouds.

# Down’s syndrome is a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in extra third genetic material from chromosome 21.

# Stockholm syndrome refers to feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim towards a captor.

Statement 1 is correct. Outer Space Treaty 1967 provisions:

States-parties commit not to:

-Place in orbit around the Earth or other celestial bodies any nuclear weapons or objects carrying WMD.

-Establish military bases, test “any type of weapons,” or conduct military exercises on the moon and other celestial bodies.

Other treaty provisions:

-Space should be accessible to all countries and can be freely and scientifically investigated.

-Space and celestial bodies are exempt from national claims of ownership.

-Countries are to avoid contaminating and harming space or celestial bodies.

-Countries exploring space are responsible and liable for any damage their activities may cause.

-Space exploration is to be guided by “principles of cooperation and mutual assistance,” such as obliging astronauts to provide aid to one another if needed.

Statement 2 is correct. India signed the Outer Space Treaty on March 3, 1967 and it was deposited on January 18, 1982.

Statement 1 is incorrect. SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for

Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a 2.7-meter (106-inch)

reflecting telescope (with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters or 100 inches).

Flying into the stratosphere at 38,000-45,000 feet puts SOFIA above 99 percent of Earth’s

infrared-blocking atmosphere, allowing astronomers to study the solar system and beyond

in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes.

SOFIA is designed to observe the infrared universe. Many objects in space emit almost

all their energy at infrared wavelengths and are often invisible when observed with visible

light.

Statement 2 is correct. NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

has confirmed, for the first time, water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery

indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold,

shadowed places.

SOFIA has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters

visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.

All of the above are Earth Observation Satellites.

Starting with IRS-1A in 1988, ISRO has launched many operational remote sensing

satellites. Today, India has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in

operation.

The data from these satellites are used for several applications covering agriculture, water

resources, urban planning, rural development, mineral prospecting, environment, forestry,

ocean resources and disaster management.

HySIS is an Earth observation satellite which will provide hyperspectral imaging services to

India for a range of applications in agriculture, forestry and in the assessment of geography

such as coastal zones and inland waterways.

RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging earth observation satellite. The satellite will provide

services in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Disaster Management.

Cartosat-3 satellite is a third-generation agile advanced satellite having high resolution

imaging capability. It addresses the increased user’s demands for large scale urban

planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and land cover

etc.

# ISRO will launch its latest earth observation satellite EOS-01 and nine international

customer spacecraft onboard its PSLV-C49 rocket from the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra

Pradesh on November 7.

In order to commercially exploit the products and services emanating from

Indian Space Programme, the “NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)” was incorporated in March

2019, as a wholly-owned Government of India under the administrative control of

Department of Space (DOS).

Statement 1 is incorrect. NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) is a Central Public Sector

Enterprise of Government of India and commercial arm of ISRO.

ISRO chairperson is not NSIL head, the current NSIL’s Chairman and Managing Director,

1. Narayanan, was earlier a Deputy Director at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at

Thiruvananthapuram.

Statement 2 is correct. NSIL will be the nodal agency for carrying out PSLV production

through Indian Industry under consortium route. The Industry consortium will be

responsible for producing, assembling and integrating the launch vehicle.

NSIL will be responsible for providing launch services to global satellite customers, onboard

SSLV, PSLV, GSLV and GSLV-MkIII launchers.

AstroSat was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in

2015 and iscapable of carrying out simultaneous observations over a range of wavelengths

from the far ultraviolet to the hard X-ray band.

Statement 1 is correct. The Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) is a remarkable 3-in-1

imaging telescope. Weighing all of 230 kg, the UVIT can simultaneously observe in the

visible, the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and the far-ultraviolet (FUV).

UVIT comprises of two separate telescopes. One of them works in the visible (320-550 nm)

and the NUV (200-300 nm). The second works only in the FUV (130-180 nm).

Statement 2 is correct. India’s first multi-wavelength satellite, AstroSat, has detected

extreme-UV (EUV) light from a galaxy, called AUDFs01, 9.3 billion light-years away from

Earth. At the time, our universe was forming stars at its peak rate.

The EUV photons emitted by galaxies like AUDFs01 could play a crucial role in reionizing

the early universe soon after the Cosmic Dark Age and emitting the first light.

Option 1 and 2 are correct. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has

decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 with

–one half to Roger Penrose “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust

prediction of the general theory of relativity”;

–other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Andrea Ghez “for the discovery of a supermassive

compact object at the centre of our galaxy”.

Option 3 is incorrect. Part of Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded to James Peebles

“for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and Michel Mayor “for the discovery of an

exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star”.

Statement 1 is correct. A black hole is an astronomical object with a

gravitational pull so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. A black hole’s

“surface,” called its event horizon, defines the boundary within which the velocity needed

to escape exceeds the speed of light, which is the speed limit of the cosmos. Matter and

radiation fall in, but they can’t get out.

Statement 2 is correct. The smallest ones are known as primordial black holes. These are

thought to have formed in the early universe, soon after the big bang.

The most common type of medium-sized black holes is called stellar black holes. These

black holes form when the center of a very massive star collapses in upon itself. This

collapse also causes a supernova, or an exploding star, that blasts part of the star into

space.

The largest black holes are called supermassive. Scientists think supermassive black holes

formed at the same time as the galaxy they are in. The size of the supermassive black hole

is related to the size and mass of the galaxy it is in.

Quasars are extremely remote celestial objects, emitting exceptionally large

amounts of energy.

Quasars are believed to produce their energy from supermassive black holes in the center

of the galaxies in which the quasars are located. Because quasars are so bright, they drown

out the light from all the other stars in the same galaxy.